Social justice and equality have come to the forefront of American consciousness in recent years, and many would agree the movement is long overdue. However, across the country, significant opposition stands between true equality and the Queer population.
Nationwide, the American Civil Liberties Union is currently tracking more than 470 pieces of legislation aimed at limiting or restricting the rights and freedoms of LGBTQ+ Americans, according to the organization’s website. These laws target a variety of issues, including:
Identification: If passed, these bills would limit the ability of transgender, intersex and nonbinary individuals to reflect the gender of their identity on their government-issued drivers license or photo ID.
Civil Rights: Some legislation would weaken or dismantle existing nondiscrimination protections and allow businesses, employers, and hospitals to discriminate against Queer persons by denying them jobs, services or even medical treatment.
Freedom of Speech and Expression: The purpose of some bills is to circumvent the First Amendment’s protections by banning, censoring or restricting access to LGBTQ+ literature and/or performances, including drag shows.
Healthcare: These laws would affect access to medical care for transgender people, block medical insurance coverage (including Medicaid) for trans people, or would force certain care upon intersex youth. Many bills would ban “affirming” care for transgender youth and create criminal penalties for physicians providing such care.
Public Accommodation: Would block transgender individuals from accessing public facilities, including restrooms and locker rooms.
Education: Some proposed legislation would stop transgender youth from being active in school sports, would force teachers to publicly identify Queer students, and even censor any dialog about LGBTQ+ issues.
Only four states — Illinois, Wisconsin, New York, and Delaware — and the District of Columbia are not pursuing anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. Even California, long known as a bastion of liberal politics, is currently weighing proposed anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.
Tony Smith, an openly gay former San Quentin resident, has mixed feelings about some of these bills, especially Florida’s controversial “Don’t Say Gay” law, forbidding teachers from discussing LGBTQ+ issues in the classroom.
“I think it’s unfortunate because there are still families and communities that are part of the LGBTQ+ community,” Smith said. “This is isolating those children with same-gender parents, and it’s not allowing an understanding of their family dynamic to others.”
On the other hand, “I also feel like you see a lot more younger kids coming out today, like it’s almost not cool to be straight anymore.”
The ACLU, however, sees no gray areas.
“While not all of these bills will become law, they all cause harm for LGBTQ+ people,” the ACLU website said.
